


The Scarf

by The_Fangirl_Sunstorm



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir Gets a Hug, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir Needs a Hug, Adrien realizes that Marinette made the scarf, Adrien’s scarf, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Ladybug always has Chat’s back, even if she doesn’t know what’s wrong, for MULTIPLE years in a row, gabriel agreste being cold and honestly a lowkey neglectful parent, like seriously who gives their kid a pen for their birthday, references to the episode “The Bubbler”, they’re still just friends in this but the trademark romantic subtext is always there if you squint
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-15
Updated: 2020-09-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:48:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,453
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26472898
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Fangirl_Sunstorm/pseuds/The_Fangirl_Sunstorm
Summary: In hindsight, Adrien always felt like the scarf had been too good to be true.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, implied chat noir/ ladybug
Comments: 5
Kudos: 132





	The Scarf

In hindsight, Adrien always felt like the scarf had been too good to be true. His father had given him the same lame fountain pen as a gift for three years running, and the model had been surprised, and touched to see that last year had been a deviation from that pattern. The scarf was soft and warm, and Adrien had loved everything about it. Though the design was simple, it was clear that every stitch had been done with great care. Adrien remembered thinking that whoever his father paid to make the scarf must have a real love of design, or at the very least, admirable skill and attention to detail. 

It turns out, he was only right about half of that statement. The person who made the scarf was indeed talented, but his father hadn’t paid them to make it at all. 

What was almost worse was that Adrien may have never found out had he not overheard a conversation between Alya and Marinette. When he had thanked his father for the gift, the man had merely nodded, and none of the house staff or his classmates had indicated that they thought that there was anything off about the present. Adrien had cherished the piece of clothing, taking it as one of the few and far between signs that his father took an interest in Adrien’s life, that the often-cold man truly cared about the high schooler. It wasn’t until his next birthday that Adrien realized that a mistake had been made.

His father had gifted him the same fountain pen again, and Adrien tried desperately to conceal his disappointment, realizing that last year’s show of kindness may have been a once-off event. He found himself reaching for his scarf that day as he dressed for school, where it was folded carefully in his top drawer. The teen put it on without hesitation, grateful for the reminder that his father wasn’t all bad, that maybe next year would be different and he had just been too busy this year to pick out another original gift.

Adrien almost forgot about his earlier disappointment as the day went on. All his friends were excited for him, and they all wished him a happy birthday and did their best to brighten his day. By the time the last bell rang Adrien had been smiling. The teen had left the building in high spirits, heading towards a nearby park to wait for the Gorilla to pick him up. Getting to wait there, instead of by the front of the school building, was one of the tiny freedoms the bodyguard allowed him on special occasions like his birthday, and Adrien was grateful for even a chance at that much independence. 

From across the small park, Adrien could see the forms of two girls with their backs to him. The pair were sitting on one of the benches circling the park's open space. After a second he recognized the plaid shirt and reddish hair to be Alya, and the other girl’s signature jacket and pigtails to be Marinette and he began to walk over to them, hoping to spend some time with the pair before the Gorilla arrived. He stopped a few yards behind them, taking a moment to find a way to join without interrupting them, when the sound of his own name made him hesitate. He knew it was bad to eavesdrop, and one might say that only spending so much time with a certain nosy, cheese-loving Kwami could have influenced his loosening of the rules, but regardless, the teenager leaned against a nearby oak tree just outside of the girls range of sight, listening as they continued their conversation.

“You can’t help but feel bad for Adrien.” Alya said, “I can’t believe his dad gave him that stupid pen again.”

“I feel kinda guilty Alya.” Marinette admitted, the designers hands twined anxiously in her lap, “I didn’t tell him that I made the scarf for him last year because I saw how much getting something like that from his dad meant to him, but maybe he wouldn’t have been so disappointed today if I had just told him the truth.”

_ Wait- what?  _ Adrien thought, feeling his breath catch in his throat.

Alya began speaking again before Marinette’s words had even had a chance to sink in for the confused model. “Girl you have nothing to feel bad about. You were only trying to be a good friend.”

A moment passed, and Marinette seemed to relax a bit. She breathed a sigh of relief. “Thanks Alya.” 

The two teens sat in comfortable silence for a minute, unbeknownst to them that the person that had been discussing was only a few feet away. 

_ What did Marinette mean? His father hadn’t given him the scarf after all?  _ Adrien’s head was spinning. One thing was for certain, the girls definitely hadn’t wanted him to hear that. 

It was just then that the teen saw the Gorilla pull up in the limousine. Adrien walked quickly to the park’s entrance, being sure to exit quietly so that Marinette and Alya hopefully didn’t realize he had even been to the park that day. 

The teen felt his shoulders drawing into themselves as he slumped into the backseat of the car. Adrien wished he could talk to Plagg, but there was no way to without arousing the Gorilla’s suspicion.

_ Had Marinette really made his scarf? Why would his father claim it had been a gift from him?  _ Adrien battled with disbelief over what he had heard as the car made its way to the Agreste mansion, but below that, crushing disappointment threatened to rise to the surface; disappointment at the truth staring him in the face.

The more he thought about it the more it seemed to make sense. Why would his father give the same thoughtless gift year after year and then suddenly give him something radiating heartfelt care? Something that was clearly hand-stitched and crafted, and now that he thought about it, could absolutely pass for Marinette’s handiwork?

Adrien’s chest felt tight with doubt as he exited the car and made his way up the front steps, where Natalie was waiting at the top with her clipboard. Adrien stopped when he reached her, doing his best to sound casual as he spoke.

“Hey Natalie? I was wondering where my Father got this scarf last year. You usually handle some of his accounting and I wondered if you remembered?” The teen had to be certain, had to know the truth.

Something like...  _ guilt _ seemed to flash in Natalie’s eyes for a moment, but she quickly returned to her reserved demeanor. “I can’t remember Adrien. I’m sorry. You know that your father spares no expense on you though, so I’m sure that it is a high-quality item.” 

“Yeah, I’m sure it is.” Adrien replied, not knowing what else to say. The teen walked silently back to his room, being sure to shut the door before releasing Plagg from his school bag. 

“Thank goodness!” The Kwami of destruction exclaimed, making little stretching motions in midair in true housecat fashion. “I thought I’d be stuck in there forever.” Plagg seemed unaware of his chosen’s distress until he took a good look at the teen’s face. The kwami hovered in front of Adrien, suddenly concerned. “Are you ok Adrien?” 

“I don’t know Plagg,” Adrien said, moving to sit on his bed and letting his bag fall to the floor. “I mean how am I supposed to feel? I thought that this scarf meant something, and now I’m not even sure that Father planned to give it to me at all.” Adrien lied back on his bed, throwing an arm carelessly across his face in frustration.

“Ya know,” Plagg said with a hint of mischief, “There is a way I can try and find out for you. Us kwami’s tend to have our way with technology, and being a kwami of destruction, I could probably hack the camera footage from Natalie’s office from your birthday last year.”

“Really?” Adrien said, surprised at yet another of Plagg’s unusual skills. “You mean if I tried to pull the footage up on the computer, you could get past the security firewall?” 

“Just leave it to me kid.” Plagg responded, “You can pay me for my services in extra Camembert.”

Adrien agreed, smiling good-naturedly at his kwami’s antics before quickly moving to his computer and typing up the footage. Plagg phased through the screen for a moment before zipping back out and suddenly, Adrien was past the security screen. 

“No way! It actually worked.” Adrien said.

“I told you I’m awesome.” Plagg responded cheekily.

Adrien typed last year's date into the search bar, and clicked on the video of Natalie’s office. 

He could see Natalie typing away at her desk, and what must be his scarf wrapped in wrapping paper at the edge of the table. There was no sound to the video, but he could see the attendant answering a call and seeming rather anxious before seizing the present and breathing a sigh of relief. Natalie removed a yellow post-it note from the front of the package before throwing it in the trash and leaving the room, most likely to give the present to Adrien.

_ That seemed weird _ . Adrien thought to himself.  _ And it still doesn’t explain where the present came from.  _

_Maybe I can check the outdoor cameras to see when it got delivered._ Adrien reasoned, switching the computer screen to the front gates a few minutes before the first recording. The teen took in a sharp breath as he watched none other than Marinette and Alya walk up to the mail slot. The girls spent a moment talking to each other before Marinette pulled a colorful package out of her backpack and put it in the mailslot.

“Plagg... that was my scarf.” Adrien realized. “That means Marinette was really telling the truth at the park.” 

“But then why would Natalie tell me it was a gift from Father? Unless… unless he didn’t get me anything at all and Natalie used Marinette’s gift as a replacement.” Adrien’s chest felt tight at the realization, as the familiar disappointment threaded its way through his body, settling in his bones like concrete. 

_ He should have known,  _ Adrien thought to himself, He should have known better than to get his hopes up, to think that his father would go out of his way to do something like get Adrien such a thoughtful gift. To think that his father would actually show that he cared like that. Adrien felt heartsick, his chest aching with disappointment. He unwound the scarf from his shoulders and threw it across the room, where it landed with a soft thud.

Adrien felt immediately guilty, after all Marinette must have worked very hard on the scarf, and no matter how he was feeling he shouldn’t treat it with such carelessness. The teen got up and walked over to the other side of the room, steps heavy as he crouched to pick up the article of clothing. Just then a burst of green light caught Adrien’s eye from outside of his window. 

One thing was for certain, that light wasn’t natural. Which could only mean one thing. Adrien took a deep breath, shoving his feelings to the side as he prepared to transform. Paris needed him.

“Plagg, claws out!”

——————————————-

(One akuma fight later)

“Pound it!” The two superhero’s fist bumped on one of the city’s many rooftops after another job well done. Most days Adrien didn’t mind being one of the “Saviors of Paris” but this time he was honestly just ready to go home and sleep, the day’s revelation and emotions catching up with him. Ladybug quirked an eyebrow at him, a question in her eyes.

“What’s wrong kitty? You look like someone stepped on your tail.” 

“It’s nothing Milady has to worry about.” Chat tried for a casual smile, but it felt brittle on his face and he knew she could see past it in a heartbeat.

“Chat,” the superheroine replied, concern written all over her face as she adopted a more serious tone, “Are you really ok? You know you can talk to me right?”

Chat let his shoulders slump, knowing that he was caught. “Yeah I know,” the hero sighed heavily, “But it’s kind of complicated and I don’t think I could explain without giving my identity away. I just had a rough day at home, I’ll be alright.”

“I’m really sorry Chaton.” Ladybug said, moving a step closer to him before pressing her lips together in the way she did when she was worried or thinking through a problem, a familiar gesture to when she was trying to figure out what to do with a lucky charm in action. 

“I won’t push your boundaries but just know I’m always here for you, both as your partner and your friend.” True to form, Chat Noir felt just a bit of the tension draining from his body at her words, at the reassurance that at least  _ someone _ had his back no matter what.

“Thanks Bug.” Chat said and meant it.

Instead of replying, Ladybug held out her arms in a wordless gesture and Chat took a step closer, accepting the hug and the comfort it provided. 

Knowing that the scarf wasn’t from his Father after all was truly disappointing, but Chat let himself bask in his Lady’s comfort for a moment, reminding himself that even if his Father was often cold to him, he still had others who truly cared about him. He had Nino, and Alya, and Plagg, and Marinette, who cared about him enough to devote time and energy into making him a scarf, and who held back from correcting him when he thought the gift was from his Father because she wanted him to be happy. 

He had his Lady here with him, doing what she could to comfort him, to support him in his time of need without even knowing what was wrong. Chat gripped her tightly, grateful beyond belief to have her here with him, to not be alone after all.

After a long moment both of the heroes Miraculous gave a warning beep, signaling that they had only a few minutes to return home before they detransformed. Chat took a deep breath before finally untangling himself from Ladybug’s embrace. The hero felt the last of the pressure leave his chest, like ice thawing from a freeze.

He still wasn’t perfectly better, but he knew that in time, he would be. Until then he knew his friends and his Lady would be there for him.

For now that was more than enough. 

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos, comments, and constructive criticism are always welcome.
> 
> Thanks for reading! <3


End file.
